United Nations

The West’s industrial policy double standard

For decades, industrial policy was discouraged in developing economies, even as China’s state-led model reshaped global supply chains. Now, with the US and Europe embracing massive interventions, the old orthodoxy looks less like principle than self-interest. Academic Guanie Lim examines how the discourse on industrial policy has shifted.

Guanie Lim

27 Apr 2026

The Board of Peace: A pay-to-play world order?

Boardroom politics may replace global diplomacy with US President Trump’s new Board of Peace. In this architecture, peace is only a privilege for those who can pay for a seat at the chairman’s table. Commentator Imran Khalid shares his views.

Imran Khalid

11 Feb 2026

Replacing the UN? Trump goes too far

US President Donald Trump’s mafia-style intimidation, extortion and coercion are finally forcing countries to act, with traditional allies leading the revolt. Former journalist Goh Choon Kang explains why Trump’s Board of Peace has hit a dead end before it even takes off.

Goh Choon Kang

03 Feb 2026

Who won the Taiwan call game? How the three leaders took what they wanted

Takaichi, Trump and Xi each walked away with political wins, shaping narratives to their advantage. The US holds influence over Japan’s choices, while China quietly advances its legal and strategic positioning. Lianhe Zaobao’s associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei gives an analysis.

Sim Tze Wei

26 Nov 2025

America’s new partner in Damascus — and China’s strategic setback

The restoration of US–Syria relations proves to be an obstacle for China’s influence in the eastern Mediterranean, as the new Syrian government is less receptive to China. Academic Ma Haiyun says that for China, the loss of Assad and the unresolved Uighur presence in Syria reveal the limits of its Middle Eastern diplomacy.

Ma Haiyun

14 Nov 2025

Beijing’s green vow: Enough to save the planet — or just hot air?

Can China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases and a global leader in clean energy, deliver on its first economy-wide climate pledge without undermining its economic, industrial and energy priorities? Genevieve Donnellon-May ponders the question.

Genevieve Donnellon-May

09 Oct 2025

How Qatar’s strike shattered illusions and ended Gulf complacency

After Israel’s strike in Qatar, the veil has been lifted that the Gulf states and their close alignment with the US would leave them unscathed. In the aftermath, the Gulf states are thinking hard about how to keep the American superstructure, but wire in alternative circuits so no single partner can pull the plug, says academic Hao Nan.

Hao Nan

30 Sep 2025

Netanyahu vs TikTok: How China became a scapegoat for Israel’s image crisis

Faced with growing international pressure over the war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned to blaming foreign powers — including China — for fuelling global criticism. But as Chinese academic Fan Hongda argues, targeting Beijing, especially over platforms like TikTok, risks further isolating Israel diplomatically and offers no real strategic gain.

Fan Hongda

23 Sep 2025

Between law and power: The Philippines, China, and the future of Scarborough Shoal

China recently declared a national nature reserve at the Scarborough Shoal, despite the shoal being within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. Manila-based analyst Don McLain Gill notes that the declaration is a continuation of China’s “grey zone” tactics to expand its control and normalise its presence in disputed areas.

Don McLain Gill

17 Sep 2025

How civilisational divides are threatening the independence of small nations

When scholars, policy makers and resistance groups adopt “civilisational” frames, they inadvertently legitimise a world order where might makes right, and cultural or religious claims override legal norms, observes academic Ma Haiyun.

Ma Haiyun

15 Sep 2025

Xi’s long game vs Trump’s deals: A clash of global futures

Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, leaders of the world’s most powerful nations, embody radically different styles and visions for global order. Their diverging paths, from Xi’s long-term statecraft to Trump’s transactional populism, risk a bleak future if ideological divides persist. US academic Zhu Zhiqun examines this quagmire.

Zhiqun Zhu

09 Sep 2025

How Taiwan is bracing for war: A whole-of-society strategy

As Taiwan focused on taking a whole-of-society approach to prepare the military and civilian domains for any contingencies, academic Ghulam Ali deciphers what the recently concluded military exercises can tell us about the island’s defence capabilities.

Ghulam Ali

23 Jul 2025